Whats a good weight to bench?
 

I'm new to this weights thing. I've been into running and climbing for a while but I'm not sure I'm doing the bench press correctly... weight wise,

I weight 13 stone and am about 5, 11. Normal size guy really. Obviously my shoulders are a little bigger as are my arms from climbing, but nothing that would make you proud.

Basically I want to improve the look of my body as I'm at the correct strenght for what I do. I get people watching me and when its hot I'd love to take my shirt off and not worry about the way I look.

Dont get me wrong, theres not a bit of fat or flab on me, I'm very toned.. but I dont look impressive.

I think its just me being silly, but I'm hoping to make myself look better without increasing my weight too much.. big factor in climbing.. the heavier I get the stronger I need to be !

At the moment I am benching 22.8 kg 11.4 on eiter side. It seems a comfortable weight but as I say does anyone have a suggestion for how much I should be lifting ?

Thanks a lot.

edit plus the car weight.. if that makes any difference?

The guide is to build up to be able to lift your own bodyweight. Train for what you want to do. If you want to bulk then it's heavy and low reps but you don't really want that by the sounds as it would restrict your climbing.

I presume you're doing 10 reps per set now or more? may be worth increasing the weight and dropping the reps if so. A spotter is a good idea as well for your form and to help you judge what you can lift.

No one I can be sure will be here all the time sadly.

I've been doing 3 sets of 10 for the different weights, arms back etc.

I've just done 3 sets of 10 with 40kg (6.2 stone) which is about half my body weight and that was a lot harder than I thought !

I'm out of weights though now :)

and I think my eyes balls popped out lol

Typical bar is about 22Kg. Some are 11Kg I believe. Somebody will confirm I'm sure.

If you're on 20Kg a side to start with that's a decent base to work from. You'll soon improve as well as I'd imagine the core strength is there from the climbing so the muscles will atune to it quicker than most. It's what you feel comfortable with without sacrificing form. When you want to increase the weight though a spotter really helps as you're not there worrying about if you can do one more or will you manage to strangle yourself :D

The effort is there then :lol1: Try keep the breathing right during the lifts :thumb:

The best tip i can give is.Take it slow and build up the weight slowly.3/4set of 10 is good mate. try and use a smooth motion 3seconds down and 3 back up.Also try and keep your back flat on the bench. people tend to arch there back tring to push out the last few reps.If you find yourself doing this lift your knees up towards your chest to push your back back down. hope this helps.

Why do you want to jepordise your climbing for the sake of vanity? Do what you enjoy and dont worry about what others think.

Cheers guys every little tips helps!!

Ok mate, i'd say take it slowly.

I'm currently benching roughly 120kg but has taken me years to build up to that, plus i'm naturally strong - apart from my pidgeon legs:lol1:

anyway i'd say stick to this.

Flat bench, 5 sets 1 very light set 2 intermediate and 2 very heavy. The last 2 should be your max where as your maximum reps would be between 6-8 where you physically cannot lift more than that - if using free weights and not a Smith machine always use a spotter.

Then i'd do maybe Inclines with the same sets and reps and finish off with 3-4 sets of dips.

Do not do your chest more than once a week, eat plenty and especially before you go to the gym and you'll be fine.

If you want a program for a full body workout just let me know.

Oh... I've been doing general weights every other day, with running in the gap. Eating... I dont each much at all now .... I'm so confused..

I need a daily guide, eat this do this, I have free weights and no one to spot... I;'m gonna die arent I :eek:

Depends what you're after, form is far more important than chasing numbers.

My bench routine is 15-30K a side, sets of 20 reps on the lighter weights, 10 on the heavier and use an incline and non-inclined bench.

I train for strength rather than mass as I think the physique of a gymnast is not only healthier but more appealing to the opposite sex than looking like a steroid case with an 18 inch collar

Some of the comments about 'spotters' smack of the type of gurning, grunting 'guys' I see at the gym admiring each others form and 'helping' each other out. A bit odd if you ask me, unless you're competing this sort of stuff is way OTT.

Like everyone else said really. depends on what you want to look like. I used to pump out 10 fvcking hard reps (x3) with about 25 a side but i started to get too big and didn't like it. Now I concentrate a lot more on longer cv work and keep the weights to minimum like 1 session a week just to keep toned. And now i will go for a much lighter weight between 10-15kg normally but try to push out 20reps (x3).

Thats worked for me but really it is down to trial and error and what you want to get out of it. Just make sure your doing your reps correctly, as in good movement, not rushing and breathing correctly ;)

Dont worry mate you dont need a spotter - use a Smith machine

http://www.innofitinc.com/images/Smi...hine_Black.jpg

Or do flat bench with Dumbells - i prefer this anyway.

You can go to failure and just dump them at the side of the bench.

BTW if you want to gain strength you need to increase your calories - not too much mind or you'll end up a big fat cnut like me:D

Agree with above - concentrate on good form, f**k what any one else is lifting, let them carry on banging out high weights with crap form just to satisfy their ego's.

Strength wise 2-3 days per week tops, heavy weights (with good form) low reps, good quality food and you'll gain strength in no time:thumb:

LOL did you just agree with your own post :lol1:

Thanks a lot again guy excellent stuff:thumb:

pimmo, is it your chest you want to improve, shoulders, arms....?????

Bench Press is sometimes used as willy waving, do what you are comfortable with, I got caught up in it benching 100 kilos and hurt my back because it was simply too heavy for me, 40 to 80 kilos was a good range to work in, dont worry what the other guys are doing.

I asked for advice for what I need to do mate, I honestly dont care what other people can lift ! my passion is in my climbing and I'm good at that !

Thanks for the input though :thumb:

Don't discount using dumbells insted of a barbell for bench press, it is a lot harder to do properly.

There are different parts of your chest and different exercises help target these parts. It is best to try and have a mix of exercises to work out the whole chest.

You should also change your routine every 6-8weeks as you will find your body becomes accustomed to the routine.

If you want to get bigger faster then eat 5-6 times a day, lots of protein.

Again as others have said and also being a fellow climber I wouldn't bother worrying a great deal about what you can bench press or 'bulking up'.

Get on the chin-up bar and also do some dips or just climb more, another tip that me and a few mates do is get a diver's weight belt to wear whilst training/climbing.

Have you got access to a campus board, as good technique will not only improve your climbing it will also increase your strength/physique.

Good luck

If you have suitable dumbbells in your gym you may be a lot better off using those instead of bench press, especially if you work out by yourself. You can push yourself a lot harder with dumbbells, and if you cant complete a press you just drop them, also you can go lower with them and you use more supporting muscle groups to keep them steady.

Smith machine is okay but will work the chest in isolation a lot more than bench press, as you arent using the supporting muscles to provide balance to the bar/dumbbells.

Do you have a good overall routine to go with your bench press? If you want a bigger build you'll want to work your back and arms as well as your chest, and also there are more chest excercises that will help build it alongside bench press.

You can do flyes as well, where you lie flat and extend your arms with weights and draw them together up above in front of you (actually, best thing Ive found for flyes is to use the cable machine that has cables either side of you, slide a bench between them, and use those to do flyes, as with normal flyes you find when you reach the top of the movement it is too easy, as the weights are sort of right above you and not applying resistance to the side anymore).

Incline is good as well, with dumbbells again, so you have three excercises for your chest, then leave it for a week and the other days work your back, arms, and legs. If your shoulders are good you could do a few shoulder excercises like shrugs or standing flyes on your other days, or keep a day for them.

I wouldnt worry about what weight you can bench press, as long as you are pushing yourself.

Agree with the above sentiment: it's not about what you can lift relative to others (trust me, there willl always be someone who can lift more). It's about your personal development i.e. improving on your bests.

Have fun!

Ns04

Good advice above, also working the same muscles daily is a :nono:

For the muscles to recover and grow you need rest (thats the bit I like :lol1) and plenty of protein as well.

going back to your original post though, it sounds as though you are already at a good stage and from my way of reading your either after more definition around the abs or you want to bulk up. If you after the definition and you have no/little body fat then something simple like crunches can help.

Yeah, and get used to having a sore chest most of the time !

all sounds good, so many questions to answer...

I only have a simple weight setup... will take a photo later and try to reply to all these great questions thanks a lot.

As STi Wanna Subaru said, 20kg either side is a good starting point, on a Smith machine anyway. You may want to start lower with free weights until you get your balance though.

Seems like a strange thing to say, it's not like you grow really fast and notice in a few weeks you're too big is it? If so, you must have some amazing genetics.